i see my future in your eyes

Michael grinned, pressing his forehead to hers as he held her tightly to himself. "I can't believe we're going to be parents, Nora," he told her quietly, lifting his hand to run his fingers through her hair, grinning, imagining their child having Nora's hair, her eyes, her smile, anything of hers. Their baby would be perfect, he just knew it. "Are you okay with this, though? I mean, I probably should have thought about that before I reacted, but... Damn, it's the best thing I've ever heard, so I just... But I don't know if this is what you want, so if it's not, that's totally fine, too, I promise." He smiled and kissed her again, holding her close. "I'm sorry I haven't been here. I'm sorry you were feeling off and I wasn't here to help."

"Pizza sounds good," Anette said quietly, nording slightly, "Pepperoni? And some bread sticks with extra marinara, maybe?" Mostly, she was still trying to delay having to tell him what was going on. Feeling him pull her to himself, though, she blinked, her nerves returning in full swing, and she wasn't sure if it was just the nerves or if the pregnancy hormones had something to do with it, but she could feel her eyes itch and burn with tears, worried about telling him, but she swallowed hard. "Sorry, I, um, I didn't mean to worry you. I just..." She ducked her head, pressing her face to his chest as she tried to breathe through her emotions before she took a breath and pulled the test out of her pocket, pressing it lightly into his hand, though she couldn't bring herself to look up at him. "I, um... I don't even know how to say it... We're expecting... We're pregnant... Or, I mean, I'm pregnant, but you know, it's an us thing, so..."

Nora smiled as she relished in the feeling of Michael's forehead against hers, just loving the closeness between the both of them. "I know, it's crazy." She told him with a warm smile, coming around to the idea now that she knew Michael was okay with it all. Hearing Michael's words though, Nora's smile softened, grateful for the concern that Michael was showing. "Michael, no, it's what I want, it's just..." she bit her lip. "I'm a little scared, but we can learn along the way, right?" She asked, resting her head on his chest. "I mean, none of us knows what comes next, so we just gotta play it by ear for a while, and let Baby Clifford grow." She smiled at the thought - imagining if their little one had Michael's eyes, or beautiful smile, or cheeky attitude. "You don't have to apologise, though." She told him gently. "You're doing your job."

Luke nodded. "Pepperoni and bread sticks with extra marinara, you got it." He promised with a small smile, but feeling Anette tense underneath him for a moment, Luke frowned, but listening carefully to Anette, Luke's eyes widened and he pulled away from her, studying her with the biggest smile he swore he'd ever worn. "What?" He beamed, looking down at the test, then back at Anette, then to the test again. "Holy shit, Anette!" He grinned, picking her up and spinning her around happily, putting her down quickly in case he hurt her. "This is amazing news, holy shit." He repeated with a grin. "We're going to be parents!" He took Anette's face into his hands gently, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips, feeling a rush of love and protection run through him. "Holy shit." He laughed into her mouth. "This is the best day ever." He told her honestly. Suddenly though, he realised that he hadn't exactly been there to support her while she was going through the first motions of pregnancy. "I'm sorry I wasn't here..." He told her gently.

Michael grinned, running his fingers through her hair before he pulled back to kiss her forehead. "I've never been happier, Nora," he told her quietly, laughing happily with the thought, "And, yeah, of course we'll learn. Shit, I should probably stock up on those baby books people buy. And, we should set up an appointment, get everything cleared up and checked out, keep up with it all to make sure you and our baby are okay." Grinning with the thought, with knowing that they were going to be parents together, he kissed her again for a long moment, just relishing in the feeling of it. "We can do this. I'm sure of it." And he was. They wouldn't be perfect, he knew that, but he knew they'd do everything they could to give their baby a happy life. His expression softened, though, and he gave her another kiss. "I know that, but still... I hate that I haven't been here for you."

Anette had waited for his reaction, anxious and tense, but when she saw the broad smile on his face, she could feel all of that fade away, her heart filling with warmth instead with seeing that he wasn't upset with it. Laughing in shock, she curled her fingers into his shirt when he set her back down and she chewed on her lip. "I was so nervous about telling you, but, God, that reaction just made everything perfect," she murmured with relief, grinning with his kiss, "I just... I was late and I wasn't feeling all that great this morning and one plus one usual equals two, so..." She shrugged, chewing on her lip again as she watched him but she shook her head, shifting to cup his face. "Hey, no, that's okay. You're doing what you love, that's all I ever want. I'm fine, really."

Nora smiled, Michael's happiness being so contagious, she couldn't stop herself. "Look at you, Dad of the year." She laughed, holding his face within her hands as he kissed her again. "Me and our baby are just fine," she promised. "But a check up would probably be good, we need an arrival estimate and to see how far I am along." She explained. "God, Michael, you're so perfect." She told him gently. "You're going to be an amazing Dad." She pressed a brief kiss to his lips, but smiled sympathetically. "Michael. The band is your job, I'm not stopping you from doing what you love, that's not fair." She told him softly.

Luke smiled, biting his lip to try to contain some of his excitement. "I know you're fine, that's what makes you so damn amazing." Luke told her, kissing her lips softly. "But we need to get you booked in with the Doctor, see if jellybean is healthy in there." He smiled, blinking suddenly. "Anette... how are you feeling about all of this?" He asked, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you, Anette, and I love our baby, and you two are my priority, always." He promised. "I mean, we always talked about kids, and now it's happening, I don't think I can stop myself smiling." He laughed.

Michael grinned slightly, running his fingers through her hair, and kissed her again. "God, I can't wait to figure everything out with you," he told her honestly, moving one hand from her hair to rest it on her stomach with a grin, so eager to meet the bundle of joy they'd created together. "I'll make sure to call to get that set up as soon as possible, promise." He kissed her again, only wanting to make sure that everything was going well for her and their baby, his hand rubbing her stomach gently. "I know that, I do, I just... Wish I could do more for you, be here for you more, especially now. I don't want you to ever think that you don't matter to me or that I don't love you, because I do. I love you more than anything in this world - well, you and our baby now." He grinned broadly, still finding it so surreal, but it sounded so amazing to him. "Our family."

Anette grinned with the feeling, watching him for a long moment, just so glad that the outcome had been this great, this amazing. "Right, yeah, I'll have to set that up soon, figure out when the due date is and where we go from here," she murmured happily, though she blinked and smiled. "I was going crazy with anxiety, worried about how you'd react, I didn't really... Stop to think about how I felt," she admitted quietly, "But... I'm glad, Luke. Scared, but glad. And I just... I want this, with you. I have faith in us, in this." She grinned but leaned to kiss his lips for a moment. "And we love you, too, Luke."

Nora smiled. "It's gonna be a hell of a journey." She told Michael, smiling as she felt his hand on her stomach, placing her hand on top of his. Laughing as Michael kissed her, she returned the kiss gently. "I don't think I've seen you this happy since the day I agreed to move in." She teased. "I know you love me, Michael." She promised quietly. "I don't doubt it for a moment. I see it when you look at me." She kissed his cheek. "And I love you, too. So much." She promised, her thumb stroking across his cheek, her other hand still firmly on top of his.

Luke smiled. "I'll get it set up, babe, don't worry about a thing." He promised. Hearing Anette's words though, Luke nodded. "I'm scared too, but this, Anette, this whole thing is so incredible." He told her, already so full of love for their baby. "We're going to do this together, our baby is going to be so loved." He promised. "We can handle anything life throws at us, and you, me, baby makes three." He winked jokingly. "We'll do it together." He kissed her forehead, before pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.

Michael smiled, pressing his forehead against hers. "We'll make the journey together, every step of it," he assured her quietly, still on a high from the news that they were going to start a family. It was such an amazing thing and he couldn't imagine all the amazing things their life would have in store for them now, every first for their baby and for them. "It's the best news in the world, Nora. It's like I'm hearing it over and over again for the first time and I just love it." He grinned and leaned to kiss her again, nodding slightly. "Good. I'll make sure to never make it so you have to feel otherwise."

Anette grinned up at him, shifting to slide her arms around her neck. "Us three against the world makes it sound like with have a pretty high chance of kicking the world's ass," she teased lightly, but she knew it wasn't just the three of them. They also had Nora and even Nora's baby - she couldn't tell Luke about that, though, it wasn't her place - and Michael and Ashton and Calum. They were all one happy family, facing the world together. Her grin broadened, though, and she nodded. "Of course. We can do it."

Nora bit her lip, smiling widely. “You’re gonna make me cry, Mikey.” She laughed. “My heart is so full, I can’t even begin to describe it.” She told him honestly. “Just imagine a few months down the line — we’ll hear a heartbeat, feel a kick...” she bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes. “And we’re gonna be emotional wrecks.” She laughed. “We uh, need a creative way to tell our parents. Our friends.” She smiled. “I don’t want it to be boring, we are the least traditional couple I know.” She grinned, pressing another kiss to his lips.

Luke grinned, pressing his hand to Anette’s stomach, gently rubbing his hand over her tummy. “We are gonna kick the world’s ass.” He promised. “Man, with Calum, Ashton, Michael, Nora, this baby’s gonna have a cool family, too.” He grinned. “And a Mom and Dad who are gonna love him or her endlessly. They’ve got it made already.” He kisses the top of Anette’s head. “So, does this mean the pizza needs extra pepperoni for the baby?” He asked with an arched eyebrow.

Michael chuckled quietly. "You're completely welcome to cry," he promised her with a grin, kissing the top of her head. "Look at you, you're already so emotional." His grin broadened as he ran his thumbs under her eyes to get any stray tears. "So am I, though. We're allowed to be emotional, though." He hummed in thought to her words and nodded. "Of course. We'll be cheesy." He grinned, returning her kiss as he held her close. "Any ideas yet?" He blinked, though. "Wait, have you eaten yet?"

Anette felt her heart swell with feeling Luke's hand on her stomach and she smiled broadly, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. "I can't wait to meet him or her, or for everybody we care about to meet him or her, too, or for him or her to meet all of us," she murmured quietly, aware she was rambling but not really caring because she loved the idea of it so much. She grinned, though. "The breadsticks and extra marinara are for the baby."

Nora smiled, despite her tears. "We're allowed to be emotional." She repeated Michael's words back to him. "Just remember that when little bean is making me hormonal." She teased, kissing his lips softly, gripping to the front of his t-shirt, wanting him close. "Cheesy sounds good - I have an idea, but it might be too cheesy." She laughed into his mouth, although hearing his question, she shook her head. "No, why?"

Luke smiled, his free hand stroking through Anette's hair, kissing her temple gently. "I can't wait to see your bump growing." He admitted with a smile. "Feel the first kick, where we both cry." He laughed. "Just fall so much in love with you, and him or her, because this is our own little family, and it's already so, so perfect." Luke promised. "Got it." He nodded with a grin, slipping his phone from his pocket to order the food. "Go and get comfortable." He instructed, already protective.

Michael grinned and kissed her again several times, over and over again, just loving everything about this moment, this news, everything with her. "I will always remember it. Even when you're being hormonal and trying to rip my head off," he teased lightly, holding her to himself as he rubbed her stomach gently again. "Oh? What's the idea? Who cares if it's too cheesy?" He grinned. "We can be the cheesiest. Maybe we'll get an award." He laughed and kissed her again but pouted with concern. "Babe, you need to eat." Lifting his other hand, he brushed her hair out of her face gently. "How's Chinese? I was planning to order some for us, anyways."

Anette grinned to his words, watching him, and nodded. "It'll be amazing," she decided quietly, eager to go through each milestone of the pregnancy and even to experience every milestone that would come once the baby was born. She grinned and leaned up to kiss him for a moment. "I love you, Luke. So much." And, knowing that their life was going to have another person in it, their own baby, was the most amazing thing ever. "Um, okay, sure. Where? Living room? Kitchen? Bedroom?"

Nora laughed into Michael's lips. "I wouldn't try to rip your head off! We all know I'd succeed on the first try." She teased, pressing another kiss to his lips, unable to stop herself, the ocassion, and Michael's happiness, having made her ecstatic. Pulling away slightly, Nora smiled. "You familiar with Ice, Ice Baby?" She grinned. "You can hold a bag of ice in each hand, I hold my non-existent bump, it would be pretty hilarious." She took a step back, laughing as she saw Michael's pout. "Chinese would be amazing." She told him.

Luke returned Anette's kiss eagerly, so unbelievably happy, not wanting the moment to end. "I love you too, Anette. I'm just so..." he laughed, unable to put into words just how happy he was feeling. Luke kissed her again, and again, and again, before pulling away, having to stop himself before he got carried away, but still rubbing her tummy gently. "Bedroom? You can change to pyjamas, get a film on." He smiled. "And I'll order those bread sticks and pepperoni pizza with extra marinara sauce." He winked.

Michael laughed. "That's true, I can't deny that, so let's hope you don't try," he teased in return, enjoying the kisses, the affection, the love between them, and his heart swelled so much with knowing that this love between them played such a huge part in creating their little miracle. He blinked, though. "Oh, we're definitely doing that! When do you want to do it?" Grinning, he kissed her forehead, eager for the idea, excited to see how it would play out. He nodded, though. "What would you like from our favorite Chinese place, then? I'll order it and you can go relax in our room. Should I order drinks, too, or just grab us something from the fridge?"

Anette grinned slightly, her grin broadening with each kiss as she laughed, but she nodded. "Okay," she murmured, kissing him again before she pulled back. "I'll be in the room, then." She grinned, watching him for a long moment before she turned to head to their room. Since it was cold outside, she changed into long pajamas and turned the TV on before she climbed onto the bed, her hands resting on her stomach happily.

Nora giggled as Michael asked question after question, kissing him to stop him mid-sentence. "Michael," she murmured as she pulled away once more. "You're already nesting. To answer your questions, we can do it in the morning, I want my usual, a Cola would be nice." She cupped his face once more, kissing the tip of his nose, pulling away from him completely to go to their closet to find her fleece pyjamas, slipping off her t-shirt.

Luke dialled the pizza parlours number, already missing Anette being in his arms, already hating the fact he couldn't ensure that she and their baby were okay. Putting in their order, Luke hung up and made his way to the bedroom he shared with Anette, smiling as he saw her hands on her tummy. "Look at how damn beautiful you are." He murmured softly, shrugging off his jacket and finding a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to change to, still admiring her.

Michael watched her leave, chewing on his lip, already feeling anxious with Nora being out of his view. He knew many things could go wrong with a pregnancy and he wanted to do everything he could to help her through the pregnancy, everything he could to make it easier for her. Knowing he'd have to part from her to get back to recording music in the morning made his anxiety grow and he honestly didn't know how he'd be able to be away from her without freaking out. Pulling out his phone, he quickly called and placed the order, wanting to get it done quickly so he could go to her. After placing the order, he went to their fridge to get them each a Cola before he headed to the bedroom, though he smiled slightly with seeing her. "Still the best sight I've ever seen," he told her from the doorway, watching her.

Anette blinked, peering over at him, though she grinned slightly, watching him. "I think you're biased," she hummed out teasingly, though she shifted to lean back against the headboard, watching him happily, just enjoying taking him in and looking forward to just relaxing with him. "Did they say how long it will be before the food arrives?" With how nervous she'd been through the day, she hadn't really paid attention to how hungry she was, so the thought of eating soon made her pretty eager, especially with knowing that it'd be providing food for their baby.

Nora laughed at Michael's comment, shaking her head in amusement as she finished changing. "You're a dork." She smiled fondly, throwing Michael some sweatpants and a t-shirt before climbing into bed, a hand resting on her tummy, the other hand grabbing the laptop to put on a film on Netflix. "But I love you so much." She smiled, getting The Nightmare Before Christmas ready, settling against the headboard, pulling their blanket back for Michael to climb in beside her.

"I'm not biased." Luke grinned at Anette as he got dressed. Climbing in beside her, Luke wrapped his arms around Anette, gently tugging her to his chest. "25 minutes. Do you need something in the mean time?" He asked, clearly worried - and when the thought of going to the studio the next day crossed his mind, Luke frowned deeply, opting instead to just hold Anette tightly, kissing the top of her head. "Chocolate? Crackers?" He raised his eyebrows. "Oh man, I need to buy pregnancy and parenting books." He grinned, secretly loving it.

Michael grinned. "I'm your dork," he reminded with a wink, though he caught the clothes she tossed him. Moving to set their drinks down, he went ahead to get changed, though he found himself watching her, just taking her in, loving the way she looked in that moment, relaxed with her hand over her tummy. It made his heart swell and he found himself already looking forward to this sight. "I love you so much, too. More than you know." When he finished changing, he moved to climb on to the bed, shifting to slide his arms around her to pull her to himself, a hand resting over hers on her stomach while he pulled the blanket over them, just wanting to keep her warm and safe.

"You're totally biased!" Anette said with a laugh, though she grinned, leaning into his hold as she relaxed, just enjoying being in his arms again. Nothing beat the feeling of being in his arms, relaxing with him. She shook her head to his question, though. "I think I can hold out for 25 minutes," she assured him with a smile, though she grinned slightly. "Yeah, we should probably get all the literary help we can."

Nora shifted closer to Michael. "Of course you're my dork." She promised, getting comfortable against him as she pressed play, not able to bring herself down from the high she felt from Michael's happiness. "You're gonna spoil this baby rotten." She laughed, nuzzling into Michael.

Luke laughed. "I'm allowed to be biased." He protested with a pout, placing a hand gently over hers as he allowed himself to relax, knowing she was there beside him, and she and their jellybean were okay. "I'm gonna hate going to the studio tomorrow." He confessed, frowning into her hair.

"Oh, you have no idea," Michael said with a broad grin, "I probably won't be able to say no to anything it wants. I'll be a total pushover, I just know it. You'll hate me." He grinned teasingly and kissed the top of her head, running his thumb over her hand gently as he relaxed with her there, though his expression soon softened. "Are you gonna be okay tomorrow? I just... Hate the thought of leaving you alone with all of this."

"At least you admit to being biased," Anette hummed out happily, though she smiled with feeling his hand over hers and she relaxed in his hold, closing her eyes for a few moments. She blinked, though, shifting a bit to peer up at him. "I'll be okay," she assured him quietly, "Really. I don't want this to get in the way of anything for you, okay? So you just go in that studio and sing and play your heart out."

"I'm excited to see you get paternal." Nora admitted to Michael with a small smile. "I love it when you get clingy, so this next nine months is gonna be heaven for me." She teased. Hearing Michael's question, Nora's smile softened, looking up at Michael. "I'll be just fine." She promised. "I'll call you if I get lonely, and then Calum will get mad at me for distracting you again." She grinned. "In all seriousness, Michael, you and the guys have been working so hard... don't let this spoil it all now."

Luke bit his lip in worry but nodded, kissing Anette's head once more. "I can't help but worry." He told her gently. "You'll call me if anything's wrong, right? I get get Petunia from Mom and Dad's to keep you company?" He offered, wanting her to have company, be looked after when he was absent from her side. "I'll be calling the Doctor first thing anyway." He shrugged, to reassure himself more than anything. "I just... leaving you is gonna suck."